Mombasa, Kenya

MOMBASA

Sailing into the port city of Mombasa

A giant ferry shuttles hundreds of people between the mainland and island that make up Mombasa

The outskirts of Mombasa

THE SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGE

Playing with the children of the SOS Children's Village

The SOS Children's Village is an international non-profit charitable organization based in Austria; it is an alternative to the traditional orphanage in that it pairs children with volunteer mothers who raise, educate, and train them to lead a productive, independent life

For more information on the SOS Children's Village, please visit their website at  http://www.sos-kd.org/

"THE GHETTO SAFARI": TSAVO NATIONAL PARK

DAY 1

The gate leading into Tsavo National Park beckons us

A baboon troupe fearlessly approached our vehicle in hopes of scavenging our food

A herd of elephants march single-file toward a watering hole

Watering holes like this one are the center of Wild African life. The water is both life-giving and treacherous; predators know that prey is abundent here.

These tents were our home for two evenings; while others lived it up in luxurious lodges, we truly roughed it out in the great African plains

Graceful herd animals such as these gazelles (left) and this oryx (right) lived a precarious life, ever looking over their shoulders for lions, leopards, and other predators

These were the first of many giraffes we saw on our safari

A quick-moving afternoon storm hit us as we made our way back to camp; we happened to be in Kenya during the rainy season

A view out the back of our giant orange infantry-turned-safari truck as we raced toward camp

DAY 2

These giant rock outcroppings are rumored to have been used by poachers to dry animal hides

These elephants were timid, reservedly eying us from behind a tree

We also spied zebras from a distance, who tryed to make sense of a giant orange truck blazing through the savannah

This elephant was much braver than most other animals (save perhaps the baboons); he came within 20 feet of our truck, acted as though he was about to charge several times, and then timidly moved behind a tree too small to conceal him so that he could continue watching us

This ostrich kept pace with us for a while before running off

A scenic view of the safari road winding through the Tsavo landscape

Giraffes greeted us at every turn

A fascinating weather phenomenon: this low-lying cloud appears to pour down on these foothills

Mzima Springs at the base of Mt. Kiliminjaro

It was here that we say monkeys, hippos, exotic birds, and Naomi Campbell - yes, Naomi Campbell, the supermodel. She was not too pleased with the fact that her pristine vacation was being spoiled by forty American college students

Hippos frolic in the waters of Mzima Springs

DAY 3

A blessing in disguise: one of our enormous, loud, lumbering safari trucks, which alerted every specimen of wildlife within five miles of our presence, had broken down; as a result, some of us were fortunate enough to ride in these smaller safari vans that allowed us to get much closer to all Tsavo had to offer

Our stealthier vehicle soon paid off; we spotted two leopards lounging in tree branches

An impala stands regal in the Tsavo savannah

Coyotes are known to be some of the nastiest predators in Tsavo; they showed none of this as they lounged in the shade

You can't find lizards like this back in the states; a truly unique color scheme on this lizard was almost as charming as his proficient begging for food

The infamous infantry safari trucks

The stalled safari truck started again for our ride home, but we did not even make it out of the park before one of our insane truck-drivers lost control and rear-ended the other one; the damage can be seen here, along with an amusing logo that seemed to fit our experience in Tsavo

The brave souls of what we lovingly refer to as "The Ghetto Safari": we may not have seen lions (but we did hear them right outside our tents one night!), we may not have been witness to terrific chases, we may have slept in wet tents rather than luxurious lodges, we may have had two psychotic Australian drivers who had little safari experience, we may have raced back to our camp during a nasty thunderstorm and been stopped by armed guards after dark because our guides did not want to relocate the camp like they were supposed to, and we may have scared off a supermodel, but when all is said and done, we will always remember . . . THE GHETTO SAFARI.

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